Iran warns Donald Trump: Stand by nuclear deal or face 'severe' consequences

Nuclear deal: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has issued a warning to Donald Trump
REUTERS
Kate Proctor24 April 2018

Iran today warned Donald Trump to stand by the nuclear deal it signed with world powers or face “severe consequences”.

President Hassan Rouhani’s message came as Mr Trump and Emmanuel Macron were expected to discuss the deal on the second day of the French president’s state visit to the USA.

At the White House, the French president was hoping to convince his US counterpart not to tear up the agreement and issue new sanctions.

He and French First Lady Brigitte were set to be welcomed to Washington DC with a 21-gun salute and ceremony featuring 500 members of the US military.

Hours earlier, in a televised speech, Mr Rouhani warned: “I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments, the Iranian government will firmly react. If anyone betrays the deal, they should know that they would face severe consequences. Iran is prepared for all possible situations.”

Mr Trump appears set to pull out of the deal next month. It was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama and Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France. Under the terms, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions.

Mr Trump claims it is not tough enough on Tehran. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to lobby Mr Trump to stay in the deal when they meet at the end of the week.

But among European leaders, Mr Macron is thought to have the closest relationship with the US president, earning him the nickname “the Trump whisperer”.

Last night Mr Trump and wife Melania dined with the Macrons at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. They also planted an oak in the White House grounds. The tree, a gift from Mr Macron, had sprouted at a First World War site in France.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in